Oh also wanted to say I have found the FAQ page and love the wealth of information it provides. I can tell this site will be an absolute in my gardening.

Hi - what size mini-greenhouse are we talking about please? There are all sorts of things called mini-greenhouse out there and it can make a big difference in giving you specific info. Can you link to a pic of it?

As general guidelines: heat is for germination only, not growing so once germinated they must come off the heat. The lights need to be no more that 2" above the plants - 1" is better. The sun this time of year is often intense enough but not enough hours for seedlings so cycle your lights according to the exposure your greenhouse has.

The ideal air temp in a greenhouse is 60-65 and with lots of moving air. Try to avoid going over 75 or letting the humidity get too high or you get leggy plants and fungus problems developing.

Once seeds sprout they can be transplanted to another container so the unsprouted ones can stay on the heat mat. If you avoid mixing seeds in the same container it is much easier. And yes, anything grown in a greenhouse still has to be hardened off before transplanting outdoors.

Hope this helps and welcome to the forum.

Dave

Wow I didn't realize the lights should be that close. So then what is the cover for if they need fresh air and not so high of a temp and humidity.

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenhouse

So then what is the cover for if they need fresh air and not so high of a temp and humidity.

The clear plastic cover? They sell 4 different types of covers for those shelf units. The clear plastic cover is to protect them from the cold while letting the sunlight in. On cold days and nights you can zip up the cover tight and plug a small heater inside to keep them from freezing. Otherwise on sunny days it needs to be open to keep from cooking the plants inside.

They also sell an insulated cover for those set-ups if you live in a really cold environment, a sun screen cover to use when you can no longer keep the temps inside down just by opening it up, and a black out cover to force blooming.

In Indiana (are you zone 4 or 5/north or south?) the amount of sun exposure you have right now IF your greenhouse is facing south and IF there are no objects blocking the sun is not quite enough yet so I'd set the lights to come on at approx. 4 pm and run until approx. midnight. Then go off until the next evening.

Just search 'lights' in the search bar here on the bottom of the page for lots of discussions about lights and how to rig them.

Dave

I'm zone 5, I forgot to tell you that my greenhouse is indoors with no natural light except what comes in from the north side of the house.

Well that changes everything. Can I ask why you are using a greenhouse indoors?

So back to your original question: My questions are, does the greenhouse I described sound ideal as far as temp and lights and what not. Also when the seeds have sprouted is it good to just go ahead and transplant them. And once I transplant them do they all have to be hardened before transplanting outdoors.

Does the greenhouse set up sound ideal? No, not really as it is an unusual way to use one of those. Most use them outside where the plants will have the benefits of natural light and such. It won't hurt the plants to go this route but yes they will need to be hardened off this way.

But with heating pads and that temperature range you should get rapid germination of most things and then once germinated, they need to come off the heat and be placed under the lights (no more than 2" above the plants) and the temperature inside the greenhouse cooled off some. If you are going to keep this inside then you'll need the lights on for 16-18 hours, some use 24 hours, a day, avoid over-watering and excess humidity. Then move the whole thing outside ASAP and begin to harden off the plants gradually.

Dave

I don't know having it inside sounded like a good idea, was thinking in the future if I wanted to use it during winter I figured I could grow flowers year round by controlling all the aspects.

But based off of your answers I will move outside. Now when I move it outside and the plants germinate do they still need to be hardened off.

Also what side of the house would you recommend placing the green house. And at night should I button it up or leave it open. And the last question if It is outside why do I need to have lights on them if they are getting sunlight.

I think such a greenhouse can be useful in the winter if your indoor climate is a little too cool, dark, and dry for growing. Plants like orchids appreciate the light and humidity.

Agree that it all depends on what you are growing in it. For example if you wanted to grow hot house tropical indoor/house plants it might play a role inside if only to maintain the higher humidity required. But for most plants it can't provide anything that wouldn't already be in the climate of the average home.

And for flowers, assuming they are to be planted outside and are not houseplants, or for any plant normally grown outside then the primary role for any GH is outside as a season extension agent.

Now when I move it outside and the plants germinate do they still need to be hardened off.

Yes, as I said above. Any time you make a change the environment of a plant you have to give it time to adjust.

Also what side of the house would you recommend placing the green house. And at night should I button it up or leave it open. And the last question if It is outside why do I need to have lights on them if they are getting sunlight.

Again I think I addressed this above. "IF your greenhouse is facing south and IF there are no objects blocking the sun is not quite enough yet so I'd set the lights to come on at approx. 4 pm and run until approx. midnight. Then go off until the next evening."

Greenhouses, all greenhouses, normally face south if at all possible as it provides the best sun exposure. But the intensity and the hours of sunlight in April are still insufficient for most plants and will be until closer to the equinox. So supplemental lighting is needed to prevent leggy plants - even commercial GH have to use supplemental lighting at times, especially on cloudy or rainy days.

As to buttoning it up or not at night, that all depends on the temperatures and the plants you are growing. Most plants will tolerate 45 degrees but less can get risky. The goal is to avoid temp extremes, to keep a balanced steady temp both day and night of around 65 degrees +/- afew degrees. That sometimes means using the vents, sometimes buttoned up tight or even with a blanket thrown over the whole thing. Sometimes you need a heater or a couple of incandescent bulbs for heat, sometimes it will be open 1/2 way or open all the way and adding a fan. You need several thermostats inside and close monitoring until you get a handle on how to balance your temps.

Dave

Ok I think you answered most of my questions, thank you for your time and responses.

Just one more when I place it outside with no cover since I have electric lights I am worried about damage. Any ideas

Do you have a photo you could post of your setup? It's sounding more and more like it might be something designed for indoor tropical plants rather than specifically for seed starting (integrated lights). I could be wrong, but I'd need to see it to be sure. Maybe a link to the product page from where you purchased it?

It is linked to it above Susan in about the 4th post down - Greenhouse.

armyeric - I can't really picture a situation where you would have it "outside with no cover since I have electric lights".

Do you mean like a rainy day? The plastic cover isn't taken off the unit completely it is just unzipped, it is a rolled up door, some have zippered vents on top or sides, some have zippered opening on the back and the front, some the door rolls down and some roll up, etc. Each brand name of these things is different and the owner has to experiment, learn what works with their particular unit.

Either way the lights would still be at least partly covered by the plastic shell but common sense tells you when it's real windy you have to tie it down and when it is raining you have to turn off the electricity and maybe even zip it up.

Dave

ok I think i got thanks for everyones help

Thanks, Dave. I missed that. The mention of lights had me confused. I guess they were added. It looks like a patio greenhouse. I think if the doors were left open (or the cover off altogether) it would work fine for starting seeds inside.